One of the great thinkers in the field of family wealth, Jay Hughes, has made the point that the creation of great wealth is mythic in scope. He refers to the creation of extraordinary wealth as a “god-like” act by which he means that the wealth creator has done the almost impossible job of converting pure imaginal potential into material reality through the sheer force of personality. We might not go so far as to suggest that the creation of wealth is “god-like” – from our perspective that term might be a bit too loaded and potentially provocative.[1] We would, however, wholeheartedly agree that such wealth creation is the stuff of myths and legends. Our nation is fascinated by these stories and we have called those in bygone eras who accomplish such things “titans of industry”. We collectively celebrate or vilify these people and imbue them with almost super-human characteristics. We marvel at their acumen, castigate them for their flaws and wonder at their accomplishments. In many ways, the creation of wealth is, indeed, a Promethian act.
In ancient Greek mythology the Titans were a race of gods who preceded the more familiar Olympian deities. These were the sons and daughters of Gaia (earth) and Uranus (sky). One of their immediate descendants was the titan Prometheus. It was Prometheus who fashioned humanity out of clay and brought them to life. He then sought to better the lives of his beloved creation by delivering to them fire (which was, until then, being withheld by the Olympian Gods). For this transgression of divine will, Zeus cursed humanity with all manner of ills (through Pandora and her urn) and punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock where an eagle would visit him daily to eat his liver only to have it regenerate overnight so that the torture could be perpetually repeated. There are incidental aspects of this myth that are noteworthy to our application of the Promethian legend to the creation of wealth. First, the Greeks considered the liver to be the seat of dark emotions (anger, wrath and greed). Second, after the release of the evils of Pandora’s urn, the one good packed into the malignant urn – hope – remained.
While any myth can be stretched too far in a kind of leaden application, it is interesting to consider the Promethian saga in the context of wealth creation. The wealth creator often displays great courage and cleverness in creating a deeply human enterprise that “gifts” humanity in ways which both advance and shape society, culture and even history. This Titan’s work results in the creation of a tremendous storehouse of energy (money) that, like Prometheus with his fire stolen from the gods, passes on to the wealth creator’s progeny. People who create such wealth are often extraordinarily talented in most respects, but also often deeply flawed in others and often profoundly crippled by darker emotions represented by the Promethean liver. These flaws are actually often necessary drivers behind the creation of the wealth.
So goes the familiar story of wealth creation. We all know it well. It is the obvious first reality of wealthy families. Every family that has succeeded can recount the Promethean stories of how the fire came to them.
The Second Act
What it is not so well-known and is often not so celebrated, is that there is a second “mythic” act that happens in all families that endure for multiple generations. It is something that a number of consultants in the field recognize as a pattern and it is highlighted in Dennis Jaffe’s very helpful monograph “Good Fortune: Building a Hundred Year Family Enterprise”. That said, this “second act” gains virtually no attention from legal and financial advisors and remains cloaked in mystery for many families. Because is not known or seen, it garners little attention. Yet families ignore this “second act” not only to their peril, but to their inevitable demise.
Families themselves and their advisors, like the world around them, tend to celebrate and revere the creation of the wealth, but they do not give much attention to the events that give rise to its sustainability. Many in the second and third generation will say to us that they could never replicate the work of the generation that created the wealth. Our response to them is that that, quite simply, is not their job to fill those particular shoes – that work has been done. They, however, do have an equally heroic responsibility and, should they chose to accept the calling, may find themselves on a journey that is at least as difficult in multiple ways.
In the ancient Greek myths, it is Heracles who kills the liver obsessed eagle and frees Prometheus. Heracles, as it turns out, is the son of a mortal woman and Zeus (who, if you remember, was the one who sentenced Prometheus to his fate). In the mythic cycles, Heracles belongs not to the Ages of the Titans or of the Gods, but to the Age of Heroes. He is thus neither god nor titan, but is endowed with gifts of strength and intelligence from these ancestors. As he goes about his eleventh labor – fetching the Golden Apples from the Garden of Hesperides — Heracles comes upon Prometheus, kills the eagle and frees him from his bondage. In gratitude, Prometheus tells him the location of the garden, but also tells him that Atlas (who holds the world upon his shoulders) must fetch them. Heracles finds Atlas and takes the burden of the world upon himself as Atlas obtains the apples. Upon his return, Heracles tricks Atlas into resuming his duties.
So what is this mythic “second act” – the Heraclean labor – most families and their advisors miss?
Quite simply, it is the decision of the family to cohere and, more importantly, the persistent effort and labor required to make that decision an ongoing reality within the family. There is, in our experience, always a heroic aspect of this journey.
By way of analog, this work is the Heraclean act in the cyclic saga of great families. In this work, which is truly a labor of love, one or more family members makes the decision to preserve legacy – to create a culture of stewardship, communication, engagement and purpose. It is important to note that this not a decision that can be made by the wealth creator – it is far beyond his or her power to control or engineer. It is a mantle that can be taken up only in the second or, occasionally, the third generation. While the wealth creator can step aside and not to stifle its development of collaboration and even provide moral support, the Heraclean act must be done others.
The fact that the wealth creator has virtually no control over the question of sustainability and legacy is often difficult for advisors and consultants to understand. They believe that it is the values of the wealth creator that must be passed on. They believe that the wealth creator can structure things (whether by legal mechanisms or by force of will) to make subsequent generations successful. In fact, neither of these is the case and such strategems are doomed to fail if that notion of control is all that exists. Some of this comes from imbuing wealth creation with powers it does not have and some of it, it seems, arises from a more cynical impulse to flatter the wealth creator.
In point of fact, and contrary to popular belief, the values that allow a family to cohere are often not the values that created wealth. Wealth creators tend to value individualism, decisiveness, risk-tolerance and a number of other entrepreneurial virtues. While these are often essential to creating wealth, these are all decidedly unhelpful – and indeed often inimical – to the success of the next generation where these “virtues” show up as “vices” such as stubbornness inflexibility, impulsivity, miscalculation and selfishness.[2] What is required in the Heraclean “second act” work – and the values that effectively support this work – are such things as peacemaking, collaboration, deliberation, and openness to outside perspectives.
The Heroic Age of the Second and Third Generations
Again, to press the myth, perhaps to its breaking point, we often see those assuming the Heraclean roles replacing Atlas for a time. The legacy of wealth creation sits heavy on the shoulders of the family and one of the Heraclean roles can be to shoulder that legacy for a time so that the family may find the “golden apples”. We have watched those who take on this Heraclean labor give themselves to this effort with style and grace. They bear the brunt of familial dysfunction for a time and out of that work help to forge something that will support the family going forward. They are often not appreciated for what they do – they live in the shadow of the Promethean act and their work seems rather anticlimactic. To top it off, this work is exhausting and grueling. It requires real patience, mental and emotional toughness, skills in communication and peacemaking, great wisdom and intelligence and genuine compassion. These people often meet with resistance and even hostility – at least at the outset. Yet, these people combine Heraclean strength with Heraclean intelligence. Their labor is truly a heroic undertaking, but it is also a necessary undertaking to move from the creation of financial wealth to the stewardship of wealth in sustainable ways that allow the family to flourish.
Because, the “second act” is lonely and perilous, in our experience this work is almost always helped by having the support and guidance of outside counsel who can provide support, advice and encouragement. This keeps alive the reminder that Hope is the Pandoran gift that opens possibilities when the rest seems overwhelming. This outside support comes in many forms, but advisors who are sensitive to it can be invaluable in the process. And, at times, it truly helps to bring in those who devote their professional lives to helping families through these transitions.
[1] It is clear that Jay is more comfortable with the problems this raises and intends to be provocative in his language use for pedagogical reasons. We are not arguing with him as to whether this is or is not a “god-like” act, but rather pointing in a slightly different direction for other purposes.
[2] In a prior blog post, we discussed the role of values and the fact that these, while great sources of strength, often also mask needs and contain, within them, blind spots and shadows that often go unrecognized.